Town of Winter Park, ballot question, tree ordinance proposal

The Winter Park Town Council voted to place on the ballot the question of whether to renew a dedicated 1 percent sales and lodging tax for another four years.

Half of the revenues generated by the 1 percent tax are devoted to marketing the Winter Park area and the remaining 50 percent is used for capital improvement projects.

Tree ordinance

A new ordinance regarding dead tree removal is under consideration by the Winter Park Town Council.

The proposed regulation will require homeowners to inspect and remove dead, dying or diseased trees from their property every year.

The proposed document states, “these trees present a real and substantial risk to the public in the form of an increased risk of rapidly spreading fire and a significant threat to the aesthetic values which are of great importance to the social and economic vitality of the Town.”

If approved by the council, each year on July 15 property owners will need to inspect and remove infected trees. If they don’t, a notice will be sent by the town manager stating they have until Sept. 15 to comply or they will be billed twice the amount of removal costs.